A Change In Perspective
by Solacein10
Summary: The war changed everyone. It seemed to Harry, though, that Draco Malfoy had changed more than anyone else he knew. This new, subdued Draco unnerved him; it also made Harry feel like protecting him. Will he be able to bring back the old Malfoy, or is the new one just fine?
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER:** Harry Potter and all it's characters belong to J K Rowling.

Author's note: Please rate and review! Constructive criticism and thoughts on the story are greatly appreciated!

* * *

Chapter One

Harry passed through the wall and appeared on platform 9 3/4 with his head lowered and gaze trained on where he was fiddling with something on his trunk. Finally giving up on finding things to do to occupy his time, he looked up and saw the station for the first time in more than a year. With his eyes roaming around the platform, he looked like he was searching for something. Whatever it was that he was searching for, he couldn't seem to find it and after another moment of looking around he took a deep breath and let it out—though it didn't seem to make much of a difference to his posture. He looked to the entire world like someone who had been forced against his will to come to the station, and by extension, to his eighth year at Hogwarts. That being said, he also looked weary and on-guard with an innate level of confidence that he didn't seem to be aware of; confidence that hadn't yet transformed into arrogance. He walked behind his two best friends, dragging his trunk behind him, as they bickered softly to each other. Upon further listening, he saw that the topic of their conversation seemed to about the Defense Against the Dark Arts classes at school, or rather, about how Ron didn't seem to think that there was any point in attending them after their last year.

"It's still knowledge Ronald, there is so much that we don't know that we should. It'll help us-"

"Help us in _what_? There's not much left for us to defend against now, is there?"

"Not everybody goes through a war Ron. They still had those lessons; they've been having those lessons since lessons even started—it's precautionary, a 'just in case' for when something happens."

"But it's _pointless_."

"So is following the Chudley Cannons. That doesn't stop you."

"Don't even go there, Hermione. Just, don't."

She rolled her eyes at him. A gesture that Harry recognized even standing behind her like he was. He laughed softly to himself and automatically went forward to help Hermione lift her trunk into the carriage, waving off her thanks as he did so. He got in behind her and followed her down the carriage in search of an empty compartment, marveling at the normality of it. As much as he'd wanted a normal life before, he'd given up expecting it. A good thing too as he saw people turn around and follow his movements with their eyes as he walked, all conversation stopping as they looked at him. He pretended to ignore them and turned behind to talk to Ron, "I think she's right, I'll probably pick up DADA as well, for the knowledge more than anything."

Ron raised his eyebrows at him but didn't say anything. Once the found an empty compartment and got into it, he slumped down on a seat and lay back against the back of it. He looked up at the ceiling for a second and then looked back down straight at Harry, "I know" he said softly, biting his lips, "But will we learn anything?" he looked away to the window and closed his eyes.

Yeah, things would probably never be normal again for them, or for anybody who was linked to the war for that matter. But they would manage, as they always did—with each other. Hermione glanced at Harry with a small smile on her face and went and sat down next to her boyfriend. She reached out and took his hand in both of hers and he opened his eyes to give her a small smile of his own. Though they fought a lot and would probably need marriage counseling, if the marriage ever happened, they were still perfect for each other. Always had been, even when they were too stupid to realize.

Harry leaned against the window and looked out. He saw parents hugging their children and sending them off, tears and laughter, boys ducking away from the embraces and girls looking around in search of their friends. He laughed now, openly, and both Ron and Hermione glanced at him.

"We did it, didn't we? We saved the world. It really is worth it, worth everything that happened."

They looked out the window and saw what he saw. Ron smiled widely and Hermione let out a little giggle, "Yes, it really is" she said.

* * *

The rest of the train ride passed smoothly. People came by and talked to them, some to say their thanks and more to just say hi, something that Harry greatly appreciated. They laughed and bought enough chocolates to satisfy them for the term and generally had fun. Midway to Hogwarts, Ginny and Luna came in and sat down for a while. Luna, more quiet than she had been two years ago but still the same space-headed girl, and Ginny, quieter than normal but for a completely different reason. She glanced at Harry frequently, always about to say something but stopping before the words came out of her mouth. For his part, he met her glances but didn't call on them. He stared out the window trying to figure out how to address the situation. How exactly do you go about telling you sort-of girlfriend that you weren't interested anymore? That you didn't feel it any longer, not with her at least, and that whatever had happened between them before had passed.

Finally, he stood up and walked out of the compartment, gesturing for her to follow him as he did so. He walked down the carriage in search of an even mildly secluded area and chanced upon an empty compartment at the end of the carriage littered with wrappers. He walked in and leaned against the far wall of the compartment, staring at the bottom of the door and wondering how to begin. Ginny closed the door as she came in and leaned against it, crossing her arms.

She took a deep breath and started, "Are we getting back together, or aren't we, because I don't know what to think anymore, Harry."

He bit his lips and looked up at her. She seemed…resigned. Like she knew what to expect but didn't care for it. He took another deep breath and went for it.

"Would you believe me if I told you that I really wish I wanted to? Get back together, I mean."

"And you don't want to?"

He silently shook his head and waited for her reply. She contemplated his words for a few moments without a word. Unlikely as it seemed with her personality, she seemed to be considering the possibility as serenely as possible.

"Why?"

Harry shrugged, "I don't know. I wish I did, but I don't. I just … don't have the urge anymore. And I don't want a relationship where neither of us are getting what we want."

"So, we're _not_ getting back together."

"No, we're not."

"Damn. Does Ron know?"

"He would if he's guessed it. I haven't told anyone directly. Same with Hermione."

"Damn" she said again. "I mean, I knew it was an option when you didn't come to me after everything got over, but I never really prepared for it I guess. Damn."

Harry wanted to go to her, to hug her and kiss the top of her head. To tell her that his decision had nothing to do with her and everything to do with how the war had changed him and how he _really_ wished that he still wanted her. But, he wasn't sure how it would have gone with her and, so, he stayed where he was watching as a myriad of expressions flitted across her face. There was a little anger, and some indignation, but a lot more acceptance and resignation. Her face finally closed off and she looked up at him.

"I still love you. I'll always love you."

"I know. I'll always love you as well." And he would. Nothing would ever change the amount of love and affection he had for her. It just wasn't the right kind of love or affection. She blinked rapidly and straightened up.

"Damn. Now I don't have a date for the next Hogsmeade weekend. Who am I going to capture by then?"

He smiled slightly, "You're beautiful Ginny, it's not going to be very hard for you. I can ask Dean for you if you want."

She shuddered, "No, we broke up for a reason. And I have no idea how people will take my ex-boyfriend helping me scout for a new one."

He laughed, "True. Then, would you help me search for a new girlfriend? Or boyfriend?"

She blinked at him in surprise at that, but he stared back at her evenly, still smiling. She rolled her eyes at him, finally smiling a little, "You do realize that I have it tougher than you. You just have to help me with people from one gender; I have to help you with both. Or is it just one?"

He thought about it, "Both, I think, though girls are definitely prettier. Guys are hot though."

She nodded sagely, "That they are."

He finally straightened up as well and went to her. He put his arms around her and pulled her into a hug, burying his face in her hair.

"Thank you, for understanding" he said softly into her hair. She lifted her arms and hugged him back tightly.

"I know" she replied just as softly.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, Harry was still in the empty compartment sitting on a wrapper-strewn seat. Ginny had left a while ago back to her own compartment after picking up Luna on the way. He didn't feel like going back to his two best friends, who were alone and most probably making good use of the time. With a grunt, Harry got up and went outside the compartment. Closing the door, he looked up to see one of the restrooms that were usually there at the end of each carriage. He went inside to wash his face and clean up a little before going back. Opening the tap, he scooped up some water and splashed it on his face. With water dripping from his face he stared at the falling water wondering if things were going to change now or remain the same as before. Hearing the sound of the door opening, he looked up at the mirror to see who was coming in. Grey eyes met green as Harry stared the boy who had just come in.

Draco Malfoy.


	2. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER:** Harry Potter and all it's characters belong to J K Rowling.

Author's note: Please rate and review! Constructive criticism and thoughts on the story are greatly appreciated!

* * *

Chapter Two

"Hey."

"Hi."

Silence ensued as Harry tried to think of something else to say. Draco seemed to have the same problem as he stood there staring at Harry like a deer caught in the headlights of a speeding car whose break lines were faulty. He broke away from the stare and looked around the restroom looking like he was trying to find something to pull him off the hypothetical road.

"I didn't know you were coming back." Harry finally managed to say as he moved away from the sink to allow Draco access.

Draco stared at the floor as he made his way to the sink, "Uhh, I didn't either. I mean I wasn't planning on coming back. Its part of my probation though, so I had to." The quiet babbling stuck Harry as very un-Draco-ish.

"Oh."

"Yeah." The silence was broken as Draco opened the taps and splashed some water on his face. Harry waited for him to say something, but Draco remained quiet. Harry knew that this was his cue to leave but he was oddly reluctant to leave this quiet and oddly behaving Draco Malfoy alone. This behavior was very unlike any that he had seen the blonde show before. The smirks and the sneers and the snide tone had all been missing from the interaction. What remained was a boy who was subdued and seemed scared of him, if the way he was avoiding his gaze was any indication.

"So," Harry started as he watched Draco scrub his face five times in a row with no indication the he would be stopping unless Harry left the room, "How was summer?"

That startled Draco enough that he stopped wetting his hands and looked up to glance at Harry through the mirror. The resultant series of blinks made him look oddly innocent and childish. "Umm" he said, finally closing the taps, "it was- it was good. I, uhh, stayed at home for most of the time." He nodded slightly to himself and looked at the floor again, his back still facing Harry.

"Didn't feel like going out much?" Harry asked. He wanted to know why Draco was acting this way and talking to him seemed as good an option as any.

"Not really, no."

"Me neither." Harry stared at the boy's reflection until he looked up and met his eyes, "How is your mother?" He wouldn't ask about Lucius, who was doing time in Azkaban for war crimes.

Draco licked his lips before answering, "She is doing well."

"Would you miss her, when you're at school?" Harry had long ago concluded that it was Narcissa Malfoy who always used to send treats for Draco and wondered if he loved his mother as much as she cared for him—enough to lie to her master for.

"I always miss her" Draco smiled slightly and made to move towards the door. Harry let him pass but then caught his hand, as he was halfway out the door, pulling on it slightly so that Draco would look at him again.

He stared at the blonde's face for a few moments, searching for anything that would help him understand the changes in him better. Old school rivalries were the last thing on his mind. For his part, Draco let him and for once didn't look away, instead letting him do whatever he wished. Before Harry could let him go, he said, "I'm not worth it."

"_What?"_

"I know you. You're trying to find what's wrong with me and you're trying to fix it. I just wanted to tell you that I'm not worth it; not worth fixing." He slowly pulled his hand away from Harry's grasp and left the restroom, heading in the direction of the carriages that the Slytherins usually occupied.

Harry stared at his retreating back and finally called out, "Draco?" The blonde stopped at his query but didn't turn around.

"Everyone's worth it." At that, Draco turned around slightly so that he could glance at Harry. He shook his head slightly with the same small smile that he had in the restroom and walked away, his whole posture saying, 'not me'.

* * *

"Do you know where we'll be staying this time when we're at school?" Harry asked Hermione as soon as he entered their compartment.

She glanced at him from behind her book and raised her eyebrows, "I would think that we would be in our old dormitories but that isn't a sure fact. They may put all the eighth-years in our own tower seeing as our number is quite small and the house dorms may not be big enough to fit all seven years plus us. The West Tower is empty, so maybe there, but then again, it isn't a sure fact."

Harry nodded, "Okay, do you know if there are any Slytherins returning this year?"

Her eyebrows went up further, "Well, I read that, for some of them, it's compulsory as part of their sentences or probations, but for those who weren't charged, they were probably given a choice like we were. But then again, it's not only Slytherins who were charged."

"True." Harry thought about what he was going to say, terribly inappropriate as it was, and then went ahead and said it anyway, "Do you think Draco Malfoy is hot?"

Ron choked from where he was trying to stuff Bertie Bott's beans in his mouth and exclaimed in surprise, "What!"

Harry scowled at him and gestured to Hermione, "I asked her"

The girl in question was gaping at him. However, after a few seconds, she closed her mouth and seemed to contemplate the question.

"Hermione, don't answer that. Please, just don't. I don't want to know what you think of that ferret." Ron, for all his reddened face, looked close to pleading as his girlfriend thought about the attractiveness of the boy who was better known as the Amazing Bouncing Ferret.

"Well," she started as Ron groaned from his corner, "He is certainly very attractive. Although, pale hair and faces are not my type, I personally prefer red faced and red –headed boys." Ron nodded vigorously at that though he still looked slightly troubled.

"I know, but he is still hot, right?"

"I guess so?" Hermione, for once, did not seem to know how to address the situation.

Harry seemed mollified and leaned back in his seat with a small smile on his face. His attitude seemed completely different from what it had been when he had climbed onto the train. Ron and Hermione stared at him for a few seconds and then at each other. 'Ginny?' Ron mouthed to Hermione and she shrugged back to him.

"We broke up." Harry said in answer to the unspoken question, not looking at either of them but at the wall opposite him.

Ron looked at him with his eyebrows furrowed and asked, "Why, mate? Did something happen"?

"Not really, it … just didn't work out. I'm not- I don't have the same feelings for her as I did in sixth-year and she said she understood. I know it's really prick-ish of me, but I lost interest and I didn't want to lead her on."

The sound of Ron grinding his teeth could be heard and he finally said, "Did you tell her all of this?"

"Yeah."

"Even the losing interest part?"

"Sort of, yeah. I didn't want to lie to her."

Ron heaved a big breath and let it out noisily, "Mate, if she's crying tonight, I'm not responsible for what I'll do."

Harry finally turned and looked as his best friend, "I know. And I don't think she will. She's stronger than most other people."

He stared back for a few seconds and then, suddenly, seemed pacified, "She is, isn't she?"

The compartment was quiet for a few minutes as all three went into their own world. Finally Ron, who couldn't take it anymore, asked.

"What's this about Malfoy?"


	3. Chapter 3

**DISCLAIMER:** Harry Potter and all it's characters belong to J K Rowling.

Author's note: Please rate and review! Constructive criticism and thoughts on the story are greatly appreciated!

Hey, I know that people thought that the last chapter was short, so here's a longer one for you!

* * *

Chapter Three

Harry searched around the Great Hall for Draco. In the bustling crowd, it was hard to pick out a single person, even with the Slytherin's distinct hair color. The Hall had more people than it usually did, as there were people from eight years instead of just seven. Harry sat in his own little niche of Gryffindors surrounded by old classmates, dorm-mates and friends. The noise level around him made him smile. There were loud greetings and exuberant hugs, courtesy of a certain Irishman and a redheaded Keeper. Seamus grinned at him from where he was accosting a seventh-year girl by making her sit down next to him and he grinned back, happy that the irishman hadn't lost his humor. He went back to looking at the Slytherin table in search of the blonde and finally found him sitting quietly with a small group of people. In fact, the whole table seemed to be unnaturally quiet. There were no jeers to be heard and the three upper years seemed to be all staring at their plates waiting for food to appear.

"Oh" Hermione said from beside him. She was looking at the Slytherin table as well and seemed to understand what was going on. "They're worried."

"Why?" Harry asked her quietly.

"Because they don't know how the rest of the school is going to treat them. They _were_ the House that most supported Voldemort's reign. Right now, they're surrounded by people who were on the other side of the war to them and, more importantly, who were on the winning side of the war. And you know how Slytherins are about winning."

"Yeah" he muttered, "I do."

"And, I'm sure that, last year, they stood aside while children were being tortured here in the castle. They're wondering what all they're in for because of that."

Harry swallowed. He felt a reasonable amount of anger towards to people who let the Death Eaters do what they wanted last year, who condoned their actions. But, then again, the war _was_ over and this wasn't the time for prejudice, and it wasn't like these kids could have done anything.

"Do you think it'll happen? Them getting beaten up?"

"Honestly? Yes, I think it'll happen" she huffed but didn't continue.

"Not if I can help it." Before she could reply, he got up from the table and walked over to the Head Table where Headmistress McGonagall was sitting down waiting for the first-years to settle down before the sorting began. He walked right up to her and leaned on the table before her. She down at him and smiled slightly, "Yes, Mr. Potter? To what do I owe this pleasure? And at a very crucial time when I must not be disturbed, nonetheless?"

He smiled sheepishly and leaned forward, "What do you think will happen to the Slytherins, Professor?"

She frowned at him, "What do you mean by that, Harry?"

"I mean, will they be mistreated because of last year, or will it be like the years before?"

Her expression cleared as she understood what he was trying to say, "I would hope that they are not mistreated, but I cannot say for sure."

"They're quiet. I don't like them like that."

She smiled properly now, "Neither do I Harry. What do you want to do about it?"

He thought about it for a second. As much as he didn't like pushing his weight around, there were some situations where it was dead useful to be famous and supposedly powerful. "Let me talk to the Hall after dinner" he said finally. "Maybe I can convince people that vengeance is not necessary and that those who employ it will have to answer to me." He grinned at the Headmistress at that and she frowned at him before giving in and smiling back.

"Alright. It's as good an option as any."

He nodded his thanks and went back to his seat. On his way, he glanced at the Slytherin table and saw Draco staring at him. His eyebrows were furrowed and he was biting his lips. The rest of the Slytherins around him hadn't even looked up from the table yet. He nodded slightly and went to sit down at his seat next to Hermione. At her questioning glance, he nodded and whispered, "You'll see later."

She nodded back and went to watch the sorting begin and the magical education of 40 children start. The ceremony went on smoothly. There seemed to be an even number of children in all the Houses and all the kids were welcomed to their new homes with great cheer. In all the Houses except for Slytherin of course—they greeted their new kids silently and moved quietly to let them sit. It was eerie, the sudden silence whenever the hat called out 'Slytherin'. Harry couldn't stand it. He wanted the unspoken competition that used to exist between his House and theirs where they used to see who could shout the most and who provided the loudest welcome. Who made the most amount of noise in general, at that.

After the ceremony was over, McGonagall gave a short speech welcoming all the students, new and old, back to school and wishing everyone a pleasant year. Harry did not miss the way she glanced at the Slytherin table when she said those last words. Dinner appeared then and everyone attacked the food with gusto. Having mostly lived with the Weasleys in the past summer, Harry had become quite proficient in speed eating, and was piling food on his plate and inhaling it, though he was still slower than Ron.

After dinner and a plate of treacle tart, the food vanished and McGonagall rose up again and clapped her hands to gain the attention of the students.

"Before we leave and head towards the dorms, there is one last thing on the agenda. Earlier this evening Mr. Potter came up to me and told me that he wished to talk to the children tonight. I have granted his wish and call for him to come to say a few words."

The Hall was quiet as Harry walked up to the Head table, a few of his friends whispered quiet encouragements and he could hear Hermione explain to Ron what he was planning to do. He reached the Head table, turned around and took a deep breath. In the silence facing him, he saw the eager faces of the entire population of Hogwarts. He avoided looking at the Slytherin table and took another deep breath.

"In all my years at Hogwarts" he started, "which is a grand total of six, the first three years were my best. Granted, in my fourth year, I was forced to face dragons, angry mer-people and stupid goblets which didn't know how to stay in one place." Those who understood the references all tittered at his words, "In my fifth year, I was called a liar, hated by almost the entire student population and shunned just because I was telling the truth." The titters turned into awkward coughs. "And in my sixth and last year, well, you don't want to know what happened in my sixth year." At that he glanced at the Slytherin table finally and saw Draco with his eyes trained on the table. The rest of his friends were watching now though. He turned back to the general audience,

"My point is that the absence of those things was not what made me enjoy my first three years seeing as I got into the same kind of trouble then as well. I liked them because of the fact that they were the only years in which I attended Hogwarts as a normal student. By normal, I mean a hot-headed Gryffindor who got into loads of trouble because he didn't know when to shut his mouth, who didn't follow his best friend's advise when she told him not to do something and got into trouble for that as well, who lost a great amount of points for his house because he was too lazy to study and because of the great many other stupid things I did. And as most students who come in as a first year, I had an arch-nemesis—the reason behind why I lost so many points. The guy I hexed whenever I saw him in class—which was a lot of classes mind you, they always put Slytherins and Gryffindors together for some unfathomable reason." Everybody who had been here two years ago turned and stared at Draco who hadn't looked up from the table yet, though he was listening if the pale blush in his face was any indication.

Harry continued, "The guy I put in the hospital wing because we had fought too roughly, and without wands as well, just because he looked at me funny. The guy I fouled in quiddich for because I hit a bludger at him, and mind you, I'm a Seeker. The guy I followed around just because I wanted to catch him do something wrong and get him into trouble." Everyone was listening avidly now. Of course, Harry hadn't done half the things he had said, or had done the in more serious situations if sixth-year obsessions could be counted. He just wanted to make a point.

"But do you know what I liked the most? The fact that he fought back- he was the guy who threw random ingredients in my potions so that they would explode, who put my in the hospital because he gave me a bloody nose, who fouled in quiddich as well because he didn't want me to catch the snitch so much that he jumped me in mid air." All right, that had happened sometime his second year. "Who always knew I was following him and got me caught instead, who, quite frankly, gave me a hell of a time and who complemented me so well that I can't imagine school without him. Not even now. I want that life back. I want to compete with Slytherins in anything and everything—from quiddich to who can shout the loudest during the welcoming feast. I want the life where the biggest thing I had to worry about was 'How dare that Slytherin wear a red shirt! Rip it off him, now!'"

The students were openly laughing now, a lot of them mock-glaring at the Slytherin table. And it made Harry happy to see that most of the Slytherins were reciprocating the glares. He started again with a more serious tone, "True, the war affected us badly, we lost family and friends. The thing is though, whichever side we had been in, we suffered the same. Both sides lost people; both sides were scared out of their wits at what was going on around them. And while during the final battle, the children in our side fought because they wanted to, a large number of children on the other side had to fight because they were forced to—by their family, or by the scary red-eyed, bald man who ordered them to. Can you blame them for fighting for their lives as much as we were fighting for ours?

"I can't.

"The war is over. Now is the time when we bridge our differences and come to a truce, because those differences are the ones that started the war in the first place. Now is the time when we should make friends with everyone. As much I want to hurt the people who hurt me, vengeance will not get us anywhere. Voldemort became who he was because he wanted vengeance on the world that treated him badly." He ignored the slight shudders and carried on, "The reason I came up here to talk is this—the Slytherins were just as badly affected from the war as we were. They're just kids, like we are. As angry as we might be, the only person we can rightfully blame is already dead. So let's put aside our differences and show the world that whatever mistakes we make, they won't be the same ones as our parents, let's show them that we learnt from the war, that we know better to judge people based on things no one can control, that we can be forgiving and kind. That we can heal."

With that, Harry walked from his spot and headed to the Slytherin table. Dead silence accompanied him there. Draco looked up when he saw Harry's shadow fall on him and the pale blush made another appearance when he saw Harry raise a hand to him.

"I know it's seven years late, but-" he shrugged, trying to convey what he meant. Draco understood immediately and scowled slightly we made Harry smile. With a small sigh, he got up and, in full view of the entire hall, shook Harry's hand.


	4. Chapter 4

**DISCLAIMER:** Harry Potter and all it's characters belong to J K Rowling.

Author's note: Please rate and review! Constructive criticism and thoughts on the story are greatly appreciated!

* * *

Chapter Four

Whispers started across the hall as Harry held Draco's hand. The blonde dropped it once the attention was no longer on him and turned to look away. His eyes were guarded and his face was now carefully blank. Harry sighed and started to turn away.

"Thanks." He froze as he heard the blonde whisper those words. "You didn't have to do that."

"Actually," He said as he turned back to face Draco fully, "I did."

"Hero complex much?" the blonde said, the slightest hint of a smirk in his voice.

"Yes, as I am constantly reminded." The smile on Draco's face could now be seen, even as small as it was. This cheered Harry up greatly. Which was quite surprising in and of itself, as Harry had never quite cared about Draco until five hours ago. "Listen," he began, "about what we talked about on the train. I want to, well, talk to you about it."

The blonde stiffened, "There's nothing to talk about, Potter."

"Back to Potter now, am I?" The blonde's eyes flickered up at him with a small glare.

"You always were, arch-nemesis remember?"

Harry chuckled, "Yeah, that was kind of a spur of the moment thing. It ended out well though." He gestured to the Slytherin table, which was now a great deal more active than it previously was.

Draco glanced at the table as well and remained slightly turned as he replied to Harry, "Yes, it did. The rest were quite worried about how we would be welcomed here."

"And you weren't?"

"Not really" he said with a small shrug. "I don't care."

"Why not. Because you're not _worth it_?" Harry practically hissed the last words. They had bothered him the first time the blonde mentioned them and they still bothered him even now.

Draco didn't look at Harry as he replied, "Yes, you seem to finally understand."

"Actually, sweetheart, I don't"

Draco turned around to glare at Harry so fast that he had practically become a blur, "_What _did you just call me?"

Before Harry could reply, they heard from the table, "Draco, Potter, could you two please stop causing a scene and sit down at your respective tables." The last bit was directed at Harry from a dark-skinned boy sitting opposite to where Draco had been sitting minutes ago. 'Blaise Zabini', Harry's mind supplied to him and he nodded in response to the boy's comments. He knew that Draco's friends had been sitting just far enough from where they were standing that they wouldn't have heard what he had been talking about to Draco.

Before he left though, he had one last thing to say, "Draco, nice try changing the topic, but I really do want to talk to you."

"And I told you that I don't-"

"Meet me on the seventh floor in front of the Room of Requirement at ten." With that, Harry gave another nod to the Slytherins who were openly staring at them now and left to join his friends.

* * *

"Well, I'm glad we're back in the house dorms and not in some tower with the rest of eighth-years." Ron said as he jumped on his bed and lay down heavily. The eighth years in each house had been given their own set of rooms, one for the each the girls and the guys, which were slightly apart from the rest of the rooms but still part of the house dorms.

"Yeah" Harry said distractedly as he put his trunk at the foot of the bed next to Ron's and glanced at his watch again.

"Mate, it's not going to take you a long time to get to the ROR from here. Just chill." He'd told Ron and Hermione about his meeting with Draco as they had walked to their new dorms. They had been supportive, as supportive as they could be in Ron's case, and he was waiting eagerly to talk to Draco and sort out whatever avalanche of feelings the blonde had started in the train. Now the only problem was whether or not Draco would show up.

After checking his watch a couple more times, he finally left the dorms at 9:45 and headed to the seventh floor. On the way there, he wondered if the Room of Requirement would even work. There was a high possibility that the Fiendfyre could have destroyed it. As he turned around the corner before the Room of Requirement, he was surprised to see a blonde head near the door.

Draco, he saw, was sitting with his back against the wall opposite the Room of Requirement. He had circled his arms around his propped up knees and was resting his head on them. He looked to be studying the blank wall in front of him. He glanced up as Harry neared him and then looked down again. Harry finally reached him and sat down next to him with his legs stretched out in front of him.

"Do you think it'll open?" he asked the Slytherin.

It took the blonde a few moments to answer, "I don't know. A part of me doesn't want it to."

It was quiet for some time before Harry asked, "Do you miss him?"

Draco finally straightened up and hopped to his feet. He leaned back against the wall and said, "Only when I see Greg. The rest of the time, I can make myself forget."

Harry stood up as well and walked to the wall. "I feel the same with George." He smiled slightly at the blonde and walked past the wall three times wishing for some place that Draco and him could talk freely. After his third pass, a door appeared on the wall and he cautiously approached it. He grasped the handle and slowly pushed it open. He peeked in and saw a room modeled like a sitting room with a little coffee table, a sofa, two lazy-boys and a fireplace, complete with a roaring fire. He felt a little more confident as he entered the room and made for the sofa. He heard Draco come in as well and they sat on the sofa, Draco choosing to sit on the other end of the sofa from Harry.

Harry got comfortable and leaned back on the arm of the sofa so that he could see Draco clearly. For his part, Draco tucked his legs under him and started picking at the linings, his gaze firmly on his hands. The silence, which was becoming quite a common thing in their encounters, lengthened because Harry didn't want to be the one to break it this time. After a couple of minutes, Draco finally started talking, never looking up as he did so.

"You wanted to talk to me about something?" he asked softly.

Harry took a deep breath and let it out, studying Draco the entire time. "Yeah. Don't you think its funny that after seven years of hating each other, we haven't fought a single time today?"

The blonde looked up and blinked at the non sequitur. He though about it for a second and replied, "No, I don't."

"Why not, what do you think has changed?"

Draco bit his lip before answering, "I have. Before, all I wanted to do was to cut you up and spread out your intestines whenever I saw you. Now, I don't."

Harry shuddered at the image and asked, "Why not?"

"Because I don't _want_ to."

"Why not?"

"Because of the fucking war, Potter!" This was the first time since they had met that day that Draco had even remotely raised his voice at Harry. Harry cocked his head to the side and asked,

"How does the war figure into this?"

When Draco replied, it was through gritted teeth. Surprisingly though, he was replying to everything Harry asked. "Just because."

"Because you lost?"

"Because it changed me."

Harry moved closer to Draco and put his hand over the blonde's on the sofa. He asked softly, "How did you change? Why did you change?"

Draco stared at their hands but didn't move his away. He didn't answer either.

"Draco?" Harry was whispering now, trying to coax the blonde into talking to him. He slowly started circling his thumb over the boy's hand, trying to relax him.

Draco took a deep, shuddering breath. "I-I changed because I f-found out that m-my entire life was a b-big, fat lie. T-that everything that I had been raised to b-believe in was just bullshit. I used to think that b-because of my blood, I was- I was better than other people and that any mistake I made didn't really matter because I was just _better_ than everyone else, but then I realized that-" As he went on, Draco's surprising case of stuttering gave way an avalanche of words that had probably been bottled up inside him for a while, "that I'm _not_ better than anyone else, least of all because of my _blood_. And where does that leave me, in a fucking pile of shit that I created, that I can't ever clean up!"


	5. Chapter 5

**DISCLAIMER:** Harry Potter and all it's characters belong to J K Rowling.

Author's note: Please rate and review! Constructive criticism and thoughts on the story are greatly appreciated!

* * *

Chapter Five

The blonde seemed close to hyperventilating. He was breathing really fast and words kept tumbling out of his mouth. All of his previous grace and poise had all but disappeared. "And what the fuck is the point of my life anymore?" he was saying, "I'm just a fucking waste of space, someone who has done nothing right with his life, his _entire _life. Who made all the mistakes that could _possibly_ be made in every situation that he faced and who will probably keep making the same mistakes over and over and over and-" He broke down in front of Harry, sobbing and wrenching his hand away from Harry's to join the other over his face.

Harry stared at the sight before him unsure of what to do. He finally leaned forward and wrapped his hand around the blonde, tucking his head under his own and rubbing his back slowly to calm him down. He kept this up until Draco's heaves finally lessened and the blonde calmed down a little and was just breathing deeply against his chest.

"Why did you come up here, Draco? Why not just ignore the meeting?" Harry asked softly. He had a slight feeling that he knew the reason, but he wanted it confirmed anyway.

When the blonde answered, it was quiet and soft, "Because I thought that if I did, I could- I could make it up to you, maybe. Make up for all the trouble that I caused. I know just agreeing to talk to you doesn't help anything, but I wanted to do s_omething_. Something to fix everything; you were as good a start on that as any. Plus," he took a deep breath, "I never could ignore you."

Harry laughed, "Yeah, I never could ignore you either. Thank you for coming."

"Why? All I did was cry, bawled my eyes out actually."

Harry smiled into the blonde's hair, "I don't really know. It made me happy though."

Draco pulled away and stared at him, "Me crying made you happy?"

"Yeah"

"You're crazy," the boy said bringing his hands up to wipe the tears from his face. His normally pale complexion had transformed into a fierce red all around his cheeks. His eyes were red as well and his hair was in disarray. Seeing Draco like this made Harry want to smile.

Instead, he lifted his hands and patted down Draco's hair, separating the strands and placing them in a way he knew the blonde liked. Draco watched him do this silently, and didn't interrupt, though it looked like he wanted to. When Harry was finally satisfied with the blonde's hair, he moved his hands so that the cupped Draco face. He stared into the slivery-grey eyes that the blonde possessed and tried to think of a way to express how he was feeling. How the blonde had been twisting his emotions since the first look in the restroom—which was, quite frankly, only a couple of hours ago. How, since he had talked to him, Harry hadn't thought of Ginny at all, how his very recent break-up had completely vanished from his mind mere moments after it had happened.

But then again, Draco did always have this effect on him. He made him forget everything around him, though it had never been in this context before.

By the time he spoke, Draco had regained his composure and was staring resolutely at the small bit of sofa between them. The flush in his cheeks hadn't completely disappeared though. His next words startled the blonde so much that he gaped at him, blinking rapidly in a way that Harry had already termed adorable.

"You're beautiful"

Draco blinked for longer while the flush on his face darkened. It turned into a full-fledged blush in just a few seconds and he lowered his to Harry's chest as he struggled to think of an appropriate response to that.

"Umm" he licked his lips, distracting Harry from his train of thought, "Thank you? I mean, thank you. Uhh, I didn't know you thought that of me. Why do you think that of me? Are you making fun of me? Because-"

Harry interrupted him before he could go on; "I didn't know I thought that of you either, that is, until I met you on the train today. Honestly, as much as this new Draco irritates me, a certain part of you is drawing me in as well. It never used to be like this before."

"Yeah, probably not," the blonde said wryly.

Harry bit his lips before continuing, "It makes me feel like protecting you. And you know I've always had that thing about protecting people."

Draco smiled wryly, "Yeah, I know."

"So, there you go. You're pulling me in like always. Except this time, I sort of want to be pulled in."

Draco took a deep breath, "Sort of?"

Harry grinned, "Yup. The other part of me is like, wait wha-?'

The blonde snorted, "Yeah, that's sort of how I feel like as well. I uhh-" he took a deep breath again, "Came back to school hoping that I could disappear for the entire year and just vanish after that as well. You know, just, make people forget that I existed so they'll stop blaming me."

Harry put his hand under Draco's chin and lifter it up so that he could look at his eyes, "That kind of ruins the point of making amends, you know."

Draco swallowed, "Yeah, well, I'm not really sure how to go about that either."

Harry exhaled, "What if- what if, instead of going about giving money to people and all that stuff, you change the way you behave around them? Like, be nice and kind to them and, you know, help them out with things. And stuff like that." He didn't know how to say that giving out money and charity at this point in time would probably worsen his reputation, as people would think that the Malfoy's were using their money, once again, to save their skins.

"Well, being nice to people would involve interacting with them and- its not like I don't want to or anything. I mean, I don't still think that blood means everything—or anything for that matter—but, its just, ugh!" he made an exasperated sound and scowled, trying to tell what he was feeling without having to use the exact words.

"You're scared?"

Draco's scowl deepened, "Yeah, that."

Harry sighed, "Draco, being scared doesn't change anything."

"I know that. But, I'm the one who's going to get beaten up, or worse, rejected if I do something like that." He was biting his lips again—I sign that meant he was worried.

"Draco, you're never going to get anywhere in life if you're scared to do something to fix whatever mess you've created. And if the only way to do that is to scrounge up some nerve and lower the fucking wall you've created around you that you think is going to protect you, then so be it. Because, you have to lower it at some point, you're going to be stuck in the same condition for the rest of your life otherwise—scared, lonely, self-deprecating, and I know you, Draco, you won't last long like that."

Draco swallowed again and sighed, "What do you want me to do?"

"Try to make amends by showing people that you've changed, that you've realized that what you thought before was wrong or misguided; that you're willing to change. I know you already think all these things, Draco, you've just got to show everyone else the same as well."

Draco took a deep breath and though about it for some time. After a couple of minutes, he looked up and met Harry's eyes, "Will you help me? In that?"

Harry smiled, "Yes, I will."

They were quiet for some time before Harry picked his hand up and placed it on the blonde's cheek again. He wanted to lean forward and kiss the blonde ,but he wasn't sure how it would be taken. So, instead of worrying about it for longer than he already had, he leaned forward till Draco had no choice but to lean back and look up at his face. As he brought his face right in front of Draco's, he could hear the blonde swallowing and he saw him lick his lips again. Finally with their noses almost touching, Harry stopped and stared into grey eyes, checking if there was any complaint against what he was doing. There wasn't. Just slight apprehension and somewhere in there, hope.

He took the next step and slowly pressed his lips against the blonde's.


	6. Chapter 6

**DISCLAIMER:** Harry Potter and all it's characters belong to J K Rowling.

Author's note: Please rate and review! Constructive criticism and thoughts on the story are greatly appreciated!

Thanks to all those who took the time to review, they made my day!

* * *

Chapter Six

The blonde's lips were slightly chapped, but soft all the same. They didn't move at all for the first few seconds of the kiss but started moving slowly after Harry leaned forward and cautiously rested some of his weight on the Slytherin's torso. Harry moved his hand from Draco's face to his neck, bringing up the other hand to caress one of his biceps. He moved his lips slowly against the blonde who was, by now, answering him the same way. The blonde's hands came up to circle around Harry's waist and pull him forward, as much as possible anyway as they were already pressed against each other. The most the kiss could be described as would be sweet. After a while, Harry pulled away and rested his forehead again Draco's, breathing slightly heavily.

"What-?" the blonde said softly in between pants, "are we doing?"

Harry chuckled, "I honestly don't know. I'm just going with it."

"Oh." Then blonde pulled back slightly, cueing Harry to do the same. They stared at each other before Draco asked, "Does this mean anything?"

Harry considered his reply carefully before answering, "Yes, but only if you want it to. I'm not going to force you to do anything."

Draco hesitated, "I don't really know if I want it to."

Harry nodded, "That's okay. Like I said, I'm not going-"

"Or-" the blond interrupted, "we could continue doing this till I'm sure."

Harry raised his eyebrows at that. Draco was blushing again and started picking at Harry's shirt while he waited for the reply.

"I can live with that." Harry said dryly.

Draco gave him a small smile and nodded. Harry leaned forward again and kissed him once more. It was as sweet as the last one, but this time Draco leaned into Harry as well and put an arm around his neck. With their lips moving against each other's, they shifted till they were kneeling in front of each other with their hand around the other. Harry moved both his hands to Draco's face and weaved his fingers in through the soft blonde hair. Draco had closed his eyes as soon as the kiss started and Harry could see the long, enviable, lashes that the blonde sported. They fluttered and cast long, thin shadows on the blonde's cheeks that Harry liked seeing.

This kiss was longer than the first one, and by the time it ended, both boys were breathing heavily. Harry smiled widely when Draco opened his eyes and the Slytherin sent back a timid smile in reply. Harry leaned in to press one, then two more kissed before leaning back completely and separating himself from the blonde. Slowly, he moved back to his side of the sofa and waited for the blonde to calm down and say something.

"Well-" the blonde started, "I definitely like it."

Harry grinned, "I can see that."

Draco nodded sheepishly, "Yeah."

After a few more moments of quiet breathing, he asked, "So, what do you want to do now?"

Harry shrugged, "I don't know. Umm, do you want to meet again?"

Draco nodded, "Yes, I'd like that. Maybe, when we meet, you could help me with how to act? And all that?"

"Sure. But Draco, I get the fear of apologizing and getting rejected, I can even understand that a little, what I don't get or understand is why you think you're worthless. You're not. Like I said before, nobody is."

The blonde pursed his lips, "You are if you've done all the horrible things that I have."

"Like what? Torture people? Follow a madman who was threatening you? Love your family so much that you would do anything for them? I don't think that the things you did are unforgivable. I don't think that your actions are completely your fault."

"I liked doing those things. At the beginning, I was proud to be selected. Proud to serve him."

"That's the way you were brought up, Draco. I refuse to think that the war I fought was all a waste because people didn't learn to forgive and forget. You aren't blameless, but you aren't completely to blame either. We all did what we had to do. _You_ did what you had to do."

"I don't know."

Harry got up and stretched, "Well, that's one more thing I can help you with. How to be remorseful without blaming yourself for everything."

The blonde got up as well and said softly, "Yeah"

* * *

When Harry walked back into the dorm, it was quiet and almost empty. Ron and Hermione were wrapped up in each other, literally, on one of the couches near the fireplace. Smiling at the sight, Harry went to them and sat down in a chair in front of them. A couple of minutes later, they finally untangled and separated from each other, Hermione's legs somehow ending up under Ron's as they settled down.

"Well-" Hermione started when she noticed Harry sitting down quietly in front of them, "How did it go?"

"Pretty good, we talked some." Harry replied.

They waited for him to continue on and when he didn't, Ron asked, "What did you talk about?"

"This and that." Harry said distractedly. He couldn't get his mind off the blonde and his hesitations and his kisses. "It was nice talking to him. I'm probably going to meet him again."

"Oh, okay."

"Yeah." Harry got up and started heading towards the boys room, "I'm heading to bed. G'night"

"G'night" both Ron and Hermione echoed as Harry walked away from them and then looked at each other.

"He's got it bad."

"I don't want to think about it, Mione."

"And he looks quite serious too."

"Mione!"

"You know what we have to do, right?"

"Yeah." Ron sighed, "I know. Damn. I_ really_ don't want to be friends with the ferret."

* * *

On his new bed, Harry lay down and tried to recall what all had happened that day so that he could attempt to make some sense out of everything. It was only 11:15, an hour and a half since he had left the dorms to meet Draco. It seemed like so much more time had passed, each second with the blonde taking an hour in Harry's mind. He hadn't felt like this before—not with Ginny, definitely not with Cho, and he didn't know what to do about it. Continue it obviously, but other than that, he had no clue how to move forward. The blonde seemed to like doing the things they had done. The change would probably have been sudden for him as well—going from arch-nemeses to friends in one day was quite a disconcerting

As much as he understood why the Slytherin was behaving that way, there were loads of things that he couldn't understand as well. Why had the change happened? Had something happened to Draco during the war? The last Harry had seen him, Draco had been acting the same as always—arrogant, but scared. It had been the night of the final battle when he had seen Draco with his parents.

That reminded him of something he had shoved to the far corners of his mind. He jumped off the bed and went to his trunk searching into it for something he had thrown in at the last second as he had been leaving Grimmauld Place. He hadn't wanted to leave it in an empty house—the hawthorn wand.

He rummaged into his trunk, pulling out most of its contents in the process. Which was ridiculous seeing as the wand had been the last thing that he had put inside the trunk. Finally he found it next to one of the sides of the trunk, where it must have fallen. He pulled it out and stared at it—it had such meaning, the wand that had destroyed Voldemort; the wand that he had taken from Draco.

He wondered if Draco would want it back. He hadn't seen the blonde use magic yet, but he couldn't have come to Hogwarts without a wand. Just as he was considering whether or not to return the wand, he heard the door open and saw Ron come in with Seamus. Dean and Neville had been sleeping when Harry had come to the room.

"Hey" Seamus said sleepily as he went to the bed he had picked and fell on it, already half asleep.

"Hey, yourself."

Harry looked up to see Ron come and sit on his bed. He smiled at him and fingered the wand, still uncertain about what to do. Ron noticed and raised his eyebrows.

"Isn't that Malfoy's wand?"

"His old one, yeah" Harry replied.

"Are you going to return it to him?"

"I don't know. I haven't decided yet." Harry looked down at the wand and traced the lines running through it with a finger.

Ron sat up and ran a hand through his hair, "Do you think he'll even want it?"

He glanced up, "Huh, you have a point. Should I just ask him about it?"

"It's your choice, mate. Personally, I don't think you should give it back. What if he gains control of the elder wand through that?"

Harry exhaled sharply, "That would be bad."

Ron nodded and got up from his bed and went to his own, removing his shirt on the way and changing into a pajama top on the way.

When Harry went to sleep half an hour later, he did so with the hawthorn wand next to his own on the bedside table.


	7. Chapter 7

**DISCLAIMER:** Harry Potter and all it's characters belong to J K Rowling.

Author's note: Please rate and review! Constructive criticism and thoughts on the story are greatly appreciated!

* * *

Chapter Seven

Harry carried the wand with him when he went to classes the next day. He and Ron had chosen the same timetable in the end, with Charms, Transfigurations, Potions, Defense Against the Dark Arts and Herbology the only core subjects they were taking. They had also picked up Magical Theory as an elective. Transfiguration had been as tough as it used to be, with a new professor on staff, a Mr. Colton, in replacement for Professor McGonagall. After lunch, they had headed to Charms and were greeted by a very excited and energetic Flitwick. Draco had been in his Transfiguration class with the rest of the eighth-year Slytherins, but not in his Charms class. He had been quiet and subdued, keeping largely to himself and his small group of Slytherin friends. Harry noticed Parkinson, Zabini and Goyle among them but couldn't name the rest. Draco had been right, seeing Goyle without Crabbe was weird.

After Charms, Ron and Harry met up with Hermione, who had a different timetable from theirs because of the amount of classes she was taking. All three headed to Potions, one of their most dreaded subjects, though, right now, it was because of associated memories more than anything. A certain Prince was the reason for that. The three took their usual seats at the back of the classroom and waited for Professor Slughorn to come in. Most of the Slytherins were already there and Harry looked around in search of Draco. He finally found him near the front of the classroom sitting next to Zabini. Draco was hunched over his seat, reading a textbook and twirling a strand of his hair in his hand. The action made him look very feminine, but that didn't seem to bother the Slytherin.

Harry smiled and took his seat between his best friends. He knew what he was going to be doing for the rest of the class. Draco-watching. Hermione leaned towards him and whispered, "I know it's only been a day, but I have a feeling that sixth-year is going to be nothing in comparison to the amount of Malfoy in your mind this time."

Harry grinned, "Not even close."

"Thought so."

They quietened down when Professor Slughorn entered the classroom and greeted the students with his booming voice, "Welcome! I am very happy to see so many eager faces reappearing in my potions class. Let us hope to achieve great things this year and-"

Harry tuned him out and went back to staring at Draco's head. As if he could sense the gaze, Draco turned around and met Harry's eyes. He raised his eyebrows when he saw Harry staring at him and gave him a small smile. Harry grinned back and caught the light blush on the blonde's face before he turned around to face the front again. When Slughorn gave them the name of the potion to brew he immediately turned to Hermione and said, "I'll go get the ingredients. Tell me what we need."

She glared at him and pointed to the book in front of her. He memorized the things they needed and jumped up to get to the store as quickly as possible. Once there, he delayed for as long as he could while getting the required ingredients and hoped as hell that Draco would be the one who came to get the ingredients for his group. He was.

Harry pretended to be having trouble reaching up to get the Murdroot leaves and waited for everybody else to leave. When Draco was in, he leaned up and got the leaves and grabbed Draco's elbow at the same time.

"Wait," he whispered.

Draco nodded silently and got his own ingredients as slowly as possible. When they were the only ones remaining in the supply cupboard, he turned towards Harry and raised an eyebrow.

Harry grinned, "Nothing, I just wanted to talk to you."

The blonde rolled his eyes, but smiled back nonetheless. He picked up the last of his supplies and leaned back on his heels, "Did you…have …something to talk about?"

Harry shook his head, "Nope."

"O-kay. That isn't weird at all."

Harry shrugged, "Well, this is talking isn't it? Maybe this is what I wanted to do."

Draco nodded slowly, and looked back into the classroom where Blaise had already turned to see what was talking the blonde so long.

"I should go."

Harry sighed, "Probably. Hey, do you want to meet up again today? -At the same time? In the Room of Requirement, of course."

Draco nodded, "Will we be doing more of what we did yesterday?"

"Definitely."

Draco smiled softly, "I'll be looking forward to it then."

Harry nodded and headed back to the room and sat down in his place after dropping the ingredients on the table. He leaned back on his stool and watched Draco talk softly to Blaise about something. He wondered if the dark-skinned boy knew what was happening between them. As much as he hoped not, he couldn't and wouldn't blame Draco if he had confided, seeing as both Ron and Hermione knew the gist of it.

He zoned out for the rest of the class, only coming out of his stupor when Hermione asked him to prepare an ingredient for her. He cut, chopped, grinded and shredded with mindless precision and passed the ingredients to her silently. Ron sat beside him doing the same, though he did take the time to whisper comments about the others' potions whenever he could.

"Look at Parvati's potion, is it supposed to be fuming like that? And in pink?" he said at one time, close to the end of the class.

Harry shrugged and went back to chopping.

"D'you think she's making some sort of perfume or something?"

"Ronald, not all girl products are pink!" Hermione hissed from her side. Hearing the implied warning in those words, Ron shut up and stared ahead.

"Malfoy and Zabini look really close don't they?" he said suddenly.

Harry's head snapped up and he glared at the front of the class were Draco and Zabini were leaning towards each other and discussing something in whispers.

"No, they don't." he said shortly. Though he did think that actually, but he wasn't going to admit that. It was completely irrational to feel jealousy over a boy he hadn't even thought of before yesterday. Harry spent the last few minutes of class in a bad mood, something that both Ron and Hermione noticed and in accordance, didn't mention. After class, Harry sprung up quickly and left the classroom ahead of all the others. This was insane—he hadn't even felt these things with Ginny! And, as he kept reminding himself, all in one day!

As he walked the corridors aimlessly, he even considered that Draco could have drugged him, with a love potion or something. But from what he knew of love potions, which mostly consisted of Ron's episode in sixth year, they were fast acting and immediately effective. Harry didn't think that what he felt for the blonde was anything more than sudden attraction. Also, he hadn't eaten anything that the blonde had given him and there was no way Draco could have done something even before the train incident. There was also the fact that Draco had been surprised and reluctant when he had run into Harry on the train.

Harry came out of the depressing train of thought and turned around to see where the other two were. He saw the both of them at the other end of the corridor where Ron was waiting for Hermione who was rummaging for something in his bag. Harry's hand unconsciously went to his own shoulder strap and came up to empty air. He swore softly as he realized what had happened.

He quickly walked past the two, slowing down a little to call out, "I left my bag in the classroom. I'm going to go back to get it. I'll meet you guys later." Ron looked up and nodded and Hermione just waved him by. From the way she was delving into her bag, it looked like she had made use of an extension charm again.

Harry got lost in thoughts of Draco again as he went back to the classroom. This time, he focused on good thoughts and catalogued what the blonde had that made him so alluring now. Physically, of course, he was very attractive. And not only to him, as he learned when he had asked Hermione on the train. The pale blonde hair and even paler features singled him out. His high cheekbones also complemented his characteristics. In fact, the whole pointiness that he possessed was what made him so attractive, now, to Harry; pointy features, along with soft hair and skin gave him an air of an aristocratic damsel. No longer was he the boy who had a face only a mother could love.

As he neared the classroom, lost in thought, he heard noises coming from around the corridor—towards the Slytherin side, as a matter of fact. He passed the classroom and rounded the corner on the other side and came to a surprising sight. A dirty blonde Slytherin—a seventh-year, if Harry recalled—had pushed another Slytherin against the wall and was shouting at his face. 'Draco', his mind supplied even as he processed what he was hearing.

"You think you're so great, huh? One year you're lording it over us, telling us how great you are. Showing us, as a matter of fact, what with the Carrows. And the next, once the war's over and you lost, you change face! Pretend as if you had nothing to do with it. Poor little Malfoy, forced to take the mark, afraid for his damn family. What a piece of bullshit!" With each sentence, the Slytherin pushed Draco against the wall again like a ragged doll.

"Do you think you'll get pity? Sympathy? Fuck you! What about the rest of us, huh? Don't we deserve something? Fuck you-" Harry watched as the shoves became rougher. He had been standing there in stunned silence, half-expecting Draco to explode on the boy. But all he did was hang his head and take it in silence. That was all Harry could take.

"Enough." He said softly, but it still carried to the pair, and when the boy turned and so who it was, he dropped Draco like a piece of hot coal.

"When I said that I would protect the Slytherins against prejudice, I didn't just mean against the other houses." His voice was barely above a whisper, but still, the Slytherin backed away. "If I find something like this happening again, rest assured, I _will_ be doing something about it. Is that clear?"

The boy nodded frantically and practically ran the rest of the way down the corridor. Once he was out of sight, Harry turned to _his_ blonde. Draco was leaning against the wall, head hanging low and arms at his side. Harry decided something, once and for all, then. He hated the sight of Draco like this.


	8. Chapter 8

**DISCLAIMER:** Harry Potter and all it's characters belong to J K Rowling.

Author's note: Please rate and review! Constructive criticism and thoughts on the story are greatly appreciated!

On a side note, thanks to everyone who reviewed on the previous chapters. They made my day!

* * *

Chapter Eight

Harry clenched his fists to his sides and counted silently backwards from twenty. Twice. He did not want to blow up at the blonde, not now at least. Once he was sufficiently calm, he asked, "What just happened?

"There was a fight." Draco's tone was wry but he didn't look up to see Harry., so the effect of the glare on his face was minimum.

"Oh, _now_ you talk back!"

"It was more of a confrontation, actually" the blonde corrected.

"Was there no way for you to confront him back?" Harry ran his fingers through his hair, a part of his mind wishing it were Draco's. A bigger part of him, though, was still pissed at the blonde.

Draco shrugged in response, "I really didn't want to."

"_Why?_"

Draco finally looked up and sighed. His shoulders slumped and he leaned back against the wall he had been slammed against a few minutes ago, "Mostly because a lot of the points he was making were true. I did lord it over them last year, and all the years before that. He has the right to be mad."

"Mad, okay. What he doesn't have is the right to push you around like that. What happened to talking things out?"

"I'd have thought you Gryffindors would know the power behind physical action a lot more than us Slytherins."

"Ha Ha Ha, Draco, very funny. I _have_ missed your wit." And he had, but not like this.

Draco scowled, "What do you want me to say?"

"That you should have fought back? That you should have made it clear to him that you would not be pushed around?"

"I don't _care_ what they do. "

"You should!"

Draco exhaled loudly, "I just don't, okay?"

"Why, the fuck, not? And don't give me that crap about thinking you deserve it. That is no reason for you to act like this. If you want to regret, go ahead. But don't do it like a bloody coward."

Draco glanced up sharply, his eyes flashing, "Don't call me that!"

"Why? You called yourself that yesterday."

"Not-not in this way. Like I'm afraid to- ugh, like I'm hiding behind a wall, pretending to be remorseful just because I don't want to face anything."

"Oh, really! What you're doing seems like exactly that!" Harry shouted.

"It's _not_!"

"Then what exactly are you doing?"

Silence ensued as they both panted and tried to catch their breath. Draco straightened up and ran his fingers through his hair. Harry unconsciously copied the gesture and Draco swallowed when he noticed. Finally, he said softly, "I'm not doing that, okay?"

"Then, what are you doing?" Harry asked back, in a more normal volume.

Draco sighed, "I don't know."

"This much of a character change isn't normal, Draco." Harry slowly walked forward and leaned against the wall next to Draco. "It's not normal for someone to go from belligerent, snarky, rude, haughty and sometimes pathetic to someone who's this quiet, accepting and apathetic."

Draco bristled at the 'pathetic' comment but didn't say anything. When Harry finished, he said, "But what if that guy you knew before isn't the real me?"

Harry raised his eyebrows, "Isn't he?"

Draco shrugged, "I don't know. I'm not consciously making the decision to act this way. I mean, when Castor pushed me against the wall, I wanted to fight back. But a bigger part of me wanted to just take it. It wasn't only because I thought I deserved it though, it was because I just accepted that things like this may happen, and I may not have the power to stop it."

Harry thought about what Draco was saying. Could people change that drastically? —Go from loud, arrogant and controversial to quiet and accepting. Well, they probably could if they had been through a war were living day to day was a big thing, having to do stuff that others expected him to in pain of death. Harry recalled Draco's attempts at torture last year; it must have been horrible having that monster in his house. He could have learnt to become accepting because of that. And of course, there was no question that he had remained quiet for most of the time, just doing others' bidding all the time.

Harry took a deep breath, "Do you think it's because of the war?"

Draco turned so that they were facing each other, their shoulders to the wall, "Probably. I did have to be very accepting last year. And quiet," All the things that Harry had thought moments ago. "I don't really know, though."

Harry smiled and lifted his hand to Draco's cheek, "It's alright. I can help you get through it. And if you're going to remain the same person—which I have absolutely no problem with—I'll just make sure you're not being stupid. I just don't want you to lose yourself, Draco. The arrogance, the snark, the belligerence, they were all you. They're hidden somewhere in you; you just have to find them. If you really want to."

Draco smiled softly, "Yeah," and looked up at Harry. Slowly, his gaze lowered to his lips and he leaned forward. Softly, but surely, he pressed his lips against Harry's and aligned his torso against his. Harry pressed back against him and ran his fingers through the blonde hair, something he had been fantasizing about doing for most of the evening. Draco's fingers came up to entangle in his hair, pulling slightly. Harry deepened the kiss and pressed his tongue against the blonde's lips, prompting him to open his mouth; he pushed his tongue into the wet heat and met an answering tongue. They rolled gently with each other for a few seconds before Harry started exploring the blonde's mouth; he moved his tongue over the blonde's lips again, loving the feel of them. He pushed back in and explored the lining of his teeth and his upper jaw. The blonde practically melted against him, his hands slowly running up and down his back now, his hips shaking ever so slightly.

Harry leaned back for a second to catch his breath and used this time to run his lips over the Slytherin's jaw, placing small kisses over it. He bent a little to access the blonde's neck and started laving kisses on it as well, nipping very slightly. He didn't want to mark Draco. Yet. Draco sighed above him and brought his hands back to Harry's hair, holding his head in place. Harry got the message and started kissing lower, over the blonde's collarbone and the hollow of his throat. Draco was panting slightly now, and making the tiniest of moans. Harry went back up and kissed the blonde again, this time more roughly. They moved against each other and when Harry couldn't take it any longer, he started thrusting slowly over Draco's thigh.

Draco met his thrusts and started moaning more openly now, his hands still tangled in Harry's hair and his tongue meeting Harry's as they kissed. Draco never tried to gain control though, preferring to accept Harry's intrusion, something Harry didn't really have a problem with. After a few more minutes, Harry let the kiss end naturally and stood leaning on Draco, panting. They finally pulled apart, and Harry reveled in the flush that was coloring Draco's face, knowing his face looked the same as well. He brought his hand up to pat down Draco's hair and smiled when he noticed that, with one brush, the hair was back in perfect position. How he wished his hair behaved like that.

After a couple of minutes, both of them were breathing fine, and back to their normal skin color. Harry put his hands in his trouser pockets and moved back a few steps so that he could resist the temptation to go back to kissing. He thought of what Ron and Hermione would say to this—they would probably wonder how he got himself into situation like this through something as innocuous as returning to pick up a bag.

Finally Draco said, "Are we meeting up later today?"

Harry nodded vigorously, "Hell, yeah."

Draco smiled, "Okay. Just wanted to make sure. And… about what we were talking about yesterday? I'm pretty sure I'm interested."

Harry grinned, "Thought you would come to that. Would you like to be my boyfriend?"

Draco blinked rapidly, "Uhh, I don't know. I've never been in a relationship before." He obviously hadn't considered the thought. Harry wondered, then, how Draco got so good at kissing. And being the brave Gryffindor, he asked,

"Then how are you so good at kissing and all that?"

Draco raised his eyebrows and smirked, oh how nice it was to see that expression on his face, "I said I haven't been in a relationship before, I didn't say I was a monk. It's called experimenting, Harry."

"Oh." Harry's cheeks heated up slightly and he smiled self-consciously, "Yeah. I would never have thought of that."

"Or done anything like it, apparently."

"Probably," Harry's blush darkened and he averted his eyes from Draco's.

"Now who's being all shy and quiet?" Draco said wryly.

Harry scowled, "This isn't shy, this is embarrassment."

"If you say so."

Harry rolled his eyes at the teasing tone and asked, "So, what's your reply? Will you be my boyfriend?"

Draco thought about it and finally nodded, a little hesitantly, "Yes, I will. I'd be happy to actually."

Harry smiled widely, "That's great. So, shall we meet up again at 10?"

Draco nodded and, with a wave, turned around and walked down the corridor. Harry turned the other way and rounder the corner back to the potions classroom. He entered the class and picked up his bag from where he had left it. The bad mood he had been in at the end of the class seemed another world away from him. He whistled a merry tune as he went to the Great Hall for dinner. He had spent enough time with Draco that dinner would have started by now. As he slipped into the hall and to the seat next to his best friends, he looked up and saw Draco take a seat on the Slytherin table. He avoided the questioning looks from his friends while waiting for Draco to look at him, and when the blonde did, he gave him a huge smile.


	9. Chapter 9

**DISCLAIMER:** Harry Potter and all it's characters belong to J K Rowling.

Author's note: Please rate and review! Constructive criticism and thoughts on the story are greatly appreciated!

* * *

Chapter Nine

Soon, Harry's concentration was taken by his best friends and he turned to them, giving a vague explanation about why he was late, gesturing to them that he would explain it in detail to them, later, when they're alone. A few minutes after he had started on his dinner, he saw a shadow fall across his plate and looked up to see a girl, no more than fourth-year, standing behind him; a Slytherin, from the color of her tie.

"Yes? Uhh…"

"Abelard. I wanted to talk to you."

"Okay," he nodded, "Go ahead."

"Alone" and started walking away from him towards the doors, her long black hair, tied in a ponytail, swinging behind her.

Harry rolled his eyes at the presumption, and with a 'Be right back' to his friends, got up and followed her outside that hall. Once outside, he looked around for her and found her in the shadow of the main staircase. She was leaning against a banister and talking to another Slytherin girl – the same year, by the looks of it, but with blonde hair.

He walked up to them, and cleared his throat to get their attention. Their gazes snapped up and the blonde girl pushed Abelard in front of her. Abelard cleared her throat and began, "We called you here today, to talk about what you were saying yesterday. That you would protect the Slytherins."

Harry shook his head; "I didn't say that I would protect you against anything, only that if people acted against you with prejudice, I would take action against them. I would do the same for any of the other houses, I named your house specifically because it was more likely to be the target of such emotions."

Abelard and the girl nodded, "So, if there were some people acting like that with us, you'd make them stop."

Harry nodded, "Well, I'd try to talk to them first. Then, if they don't listen and are still fighting, I'd make them stop, yes."

"Well, good then," the girl straightened up, "You can help us."

"If I can," Harry replied, "Do you want my help now?"

Abelard nodded vigorously, "You see, I didn't ask you for myself, but for my older sister. Alicia Abelard. She's a sixth-year and, she wasn't exactly _on_ the Dark Lord's side last year, but she sort of just let it happen. All of us had to, you see. And, now that the war is over, a Ravenclaw that she had dated and some of his friends are all hounding her. Insulting her in the hallways, tripping her, making her skirt fly up—all that kind of stuff. She felt so bad that she skipped the last class today and went to the dorms to cry. I've never seen her so upset! She was the one who kept me safe last year, my friends and I, and they're all, ugh! She hadn't come to dinner yesterday because they had started the teasing on the train, and she hasn't eaten a proper meal today either!"

Harry frowned, "Do you know who these boys are?"

Abelard scowled, "Not by name no, but I can show you what they look like. They were right there sitting on the Ravenclaw table, laughing like they had no care in the world, while my sister's crying in her room."

Harry gestured towards the doors, "After you, then." They walked back to the hall, he asked to Abelard, "What's your name, anyway?"

"Katie."

Harry smiled, "Oh, I had a friend named Katie. She graduated a while ago, though."

Katie looked at him like he was crazy, "O-kay? And you're telling me that, why?"

Harry shrugged, "Just because, it's just conversation."

Katie and her friend looked at each other and shrugged, as if to say, 'Gryffindors'. As they were walking in, Harry saw Draco come out with Pansy and Blaise. There were in deep conversation; actually it was more of an argument between Pansy and Draco. Blaise just trailed behind them. Draco smiled slightly when he noticed Harry, but went back to the conversation immediately. They quietened down as they passed Harry's little group, so Harry couldn't hear what they were talking about.

When they were in the hall, Katie stood a little to the side and gestured to a group of boys at the Ravenclaw table. Harry vaguely remembered seeing them around the castle, but he knew that he had never really talked to them before. Harry turned to the girls and said, "Okay, thanks. I'll take care of it later."

Katie frowned, "Aren't you going to talk to them now?"

Harry shook his head, "No, I'll talk to them when there are less people around." What Harry didn't want to tell the girls was that he wanted to check out the details of the situation himself before rushing in. He wasn't sure how truthful the girls were being either. He raised his hand in farewell to the two Slytherins and went back to his own seat, keeping and eye on the Ravenclaw boys at the same time. Once he had sat down, he relayed the conversation to Ron and Hermione in whispers.

"Do you think they did it?" Hermione asked in the end.

Harry shrugged, "You never know. I think the girls thought what they were doing is right, though. And that does lend some credibility to their words."

She nodded unsurely, "True."

They went back to eating, changing the topic of discussion to the first day of school. "Colton was pretty good, though." Ron said when they were discussing the teachers.

"He wasn't as good as Professor McGonagall." Hermione argued.

"No one can be good as McGonagall. She's been teaching the class for decades!"

Hermione conceded, "You do have a point. But, I still think he could do better."

"How do you think our magical theory class is going to be?" Harry asked suddenly. He wondered what the class was about, having signed up for it because it sounded interesting. And after what he had learned about wands last year, he had an interest in learning about the theory behind magic. It had, after all, been the thing that had saved them all.

Hermione shrugged, "I don't know. This is the first year in decades that enough students signed up for the class for the school to hire a teacher. Who knows what he'll teach us."

Ron gaped at her, "Sorry Mione, I was stuck at 'I don't know." She rolled her eyes at him and went back to eating. Soon, they finished and got up to leave the hall. In the corner of his eye, Harry could see the Ravenclaw boys get up as well. Once they left the hall, he waved to Ron and Hermione and separated from them, following silently behind the boys. Years under the cloak ensured that he did not make a sound as he walked.

From what Harry could see, the boys were walking back to Ravenclaw tower. He walked slightly faster so that he could catch up to them and hear what they were saying. Once he was close, he waved his wand over himself and cast a silent disillusionment charm on himself. He trotted faster and caught up to them as one of the boys was saying,

"-didn't turn up to dinner today. We may have gone too far." The boy was quite nondescript, with wavy brown hair and a slightly stocky build.

One of the other boys scoffed and replied, "Yeah right, Andrew. You're just sensitive because you used to date her. Just stand by and watch if you really have a problem; it's what she did last year, isn't it?" As he spoke several of the boys nodded and Andrew, finally, nodded diminutively as well.

"Yeah," one of the others piped up, "She deserves it. And it's not like we're torturing her like they did to us."

Harry had had enough. What they were discussing pretty much confirmed Katie's words. He raised his wand and cast silent _Petrific Totalus_es on all of them, catching them by surprise. With that done, he cancelled the disillusionment charm on himself and stalked forward. When he came close enough to the boys that they caught sight of him, he gained a slight thrill at the apprehension in their eyes. When he started talking, his voice was almost amused,

"I rather think that it was just yesterday that I was telling people that all acts of vengeance would have to go through me. And here I thought that Ravenclaws were supposed to have really good memories." He went past them and turned around so that all of them could look at him properly.

"I meant it, you know, what I said last night. Now, what do I do about the people who really should be smart enough to understand that? Should I hex them so much that they would have to stay in the hospital wing for weeks in intense pain?" he raised his eyebrows at that and was happy to see fear enter their eyes.

"Or should I hex their pants off and make them walk back to their dorms like that; the same way they kept lifting up a girl's skirt. All because of the vengeance that is not their right." His tone became serious as he continued, "You have got to realize that it wasn't her fault. Have you ever thought of yourself in those situations? She was as scared as you were. Everyone was. And what did you do, anyway, when everybody was being tortured? You blame her for standing by when you did the exact same thing!"

Harry focused on calming down, and after a few seconds, leveled his stare at the boys again. "This is your last chance. The only reason I'm letting you go is because I think you really do believe that she deserves it. The thing is, she doesn't. Everybody who does is now in Azkaban or dead. Please understand that. I'm going to let you go now and I want you all to really think about what I said. Think about how everyone acted last year, if you really want to. You'll notice that you weren't the only ones helpless and scared out of their minds. At least you were safe in your dorms, with your friends and your people, she, and the rest of the Slytherins, didn't even have that."

With those words, Harry cancelled the petrification charm and walked past them again, heading towards the eighth year dorms so that he could change and get ready to meet Draco.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Harry was bloody nervous. It was like he had never been on a date before, but he had never been on a date with _Draco _before and that was what mattered. He glared at his reflection in the mirror again, wishing for the hundredth time that his hair would _just stand still_. It just wasn't happening. He had been in the bathroom for half an hour now, which was twenty-five minutes more than he usually took to get ready for anything.

He reached up and adjusted the collar of the green button-down he was wearing. Hermione had gotten it for him from god know where, stating that it would bring out his eyes. He was willing to do anything that would make him look even slightly better, at this point. He had also foregone his glasses and was wearing the contacts he had bought on a whim during the summer. He had never bothered wearing them before and was surprised to find the change it created. His eyes shown brightly, he had never known they were that green before. Was this the green that Snape had wanted to see before he died?

Shaking his head to dispel the negative direction his thoughts were taking, Harry took one last glance at the mirror and decided that there really wasn't much more that he could do. He pulled on his shirt a little as he walked out of the bathroom, nervously planning what he was going to say to Draco tonight. Although, seeing as Harry had never really planned for anything before, he came up with nothing. He smiled thinly when he saw Hermione waiting for him on Ron's bed.

Seeing the nervousness and fear on Harry's face, Hermione jumped off the bed and came to stand in front of him, smoothening his shirt as she talked,

"Don't worry about anything, okay? Just be calm and act like you always do. Remember, this is Draco, he knows you almost as much as you know him. He's not going to judge you because of stupid things, especially not on how you look."

Harry pouted, "I know that. But it still doesn't stop me from wanting to make a good impression. If you recall, we don't have many of those."

Ron snorted from his bed, "Of course you don't. He spent the first six years of our school life trying to get us killed. It's not like he never _poisoned_ us or anything." He stopped talking and leaned back so that he fell down on his bed. Harry really didn't know what to say in reply to those words. What Ron had said was true. But at the same time, it didn't matter to him anymore. He cared about the Draco of the present, not the git who had fought with them all those years ago. Though, at the same time, he didn't want the boy to lose his essence of being. He glanced at Hermione and saw that, she too, looked slightly troubled.

"Don't worry about me," they heard Ron say from the bed. "I don't really have a problem with him now. It's just that it'll take a while for me to get used to him."

Harry nodded and then, when he realized that Ron couldn't see him, said, "Okay. I really think he feels sorry about the way he acted, though. At least, he regrets his actions."

"That's better than nothing I guess." Harry stood there, hesitating. He didn't want Ron to be unhappy with his decision to date Draco. As much as he had acted unconcerned with Ron's and Hermione's reactions to his relationship with Draco, he knew that, if they were really against it, he would stop seeing the blonde.

Probably sensing the directions of Harry's thoughts, Ron suddenly got up and glared at him, "Look, Harry, if I really didn't like it, you would know. Stop overthinking things and go have fun on your date. I was just thinking out loud"

Harry nodded hesitantly, "Okay. But, if you really have a problem, you should tell me."

Ron rolled his eyes, "If I really had a problem," he said, "I wouldn't have let you take things so far in the first place. So, again, don't worry about it."

Harry smiled softly, "Okay. If you insist."

"I do, all this unhappiness is killing me. Go now, so that I can spend the time recuperating under the watchful care of my girlfriend." With that, Ron glanced at Hermione—what he was planning to do with his girlfriend after Harry left was clear on his face.

Harry laughed and took that as his cue to leave. Tugging nervously on his shirt again, he left the dorm and walked the short distance to the Room of Requirement. He checked his watch and was relieved to see that he still had five minutes left. Turning the corner before the Room, Harry was once again surprised to see that the Slytherin had made it before him. He paused for a second to admire the blonde from afar. He was standing and leaning against the wall, opposite to the Room of Requirement, with his hands in the pockets of his black trousers. He was wearing a black shirt as well and the result was that his pale skin glowed more than it usually did. Looking at his profile, Harry decided, once again, that Draco was beautiful. He had the perfect combination of colors, perfect features, and so what if they were a little pointy—that just completed his image perfectly.

Harry grinned and walked forward to meet with his boyfriend. He was rewarded with a smile as soon as he reached Draco's line of vision. Harry nodded to him silently and went about getting a room for them. He pictured the same room as before and after three passed, opened the door and gestured for Draco to lead them into the room. Harry followed him in and was pleasantly surprised to see that the room had added candles to the small coffee table in front of the sofa. He saw Draco raise his eyebrows when he noticed the candles but, since the blonde didn't comment, he refrained from explaining.

The both headed to the sofa in silent agreement and sat down, this time a lot closer than they had started with the previous night. Once they were settled, with Harry turned around so that he could see Draco clearly, the Gryffindor opened his mouth to speak, but the Slytherin beat him to it,

"I've never had a boyfriend before."

Harry nodded slowly, "You told me before. But, neither have I."

The blonde rolled his eyes, "I know that-" but was interrupted from what he was about to say by Harry,

"You mean you like girls? I mean- do you not like guys? I mean- uhh, do you have a problem with me being a guy?"

Draco stopped him from going on by placing a hand on his arm, "Harry, if I had a problem with you being a guy, I would never have kissed you. Or liked it so much-" Harry blushed as he remembered their kiss in the corridor.

"So, no, I do not have a problem. All I meant to say is that, I've never had a proper relationship before and I might not be very good at it."

"Oh," Harry blushed again, "that isn't a big deal. We'll figure it out as we move on. I don't care that you don't have any experience." In face, Harry was distinctly happy that the blonde hadn't been in a relationship before.

Draco swallowed, an action Harry found very distracting, "Harry, I never said I didn't have _experience_, I said that I had never been in a relationship before."

Harry frowned, "Then how would—oh! Yeah, I get that. I mean experience as in 'relationship' experience. You said in the hallway that you had experimented."

They fell into silence again as Harry contemplated what he had just learnt, "How far have you gone, then?" he asked finally.

"Not all the way, but pretty close to it." The blonde answered.

"Oh. With a guy?"

Draco nodded silently. Well, at least this answered why Draco had no problem with what they had done. Enjoyed it, even, like he said. Harry asked after a while, taking Draco's hand in his as he did "Will it be stupid of me to ask who it was?

Draco snorted before replying, "No. I don't have a problem. It was mostly Theo. Blaise now and then."

Harry frowned at that, "Wait, you're telling me that three-fifths of the Slytherin boys are gay?"

Draco rolled his eyes at that, "If you're really particular about it, I would say that we were two-fifths gay, one-fifths bisexual and two-fifths food-sexual. Theo swung both ways."

Harry chuckled, "Yeah, I always wondered whom Crabbe and Goyle would end up with. Most of the dorm thought they would shack up with each other in the end."

Draco snorted at that, but didn't reply. Harry wondered why for a second before realizing suddenly why this might not be something Draco wanted to talk about. Crabbe. He tried to think of something to say to change the topic and finally blurted out,

"How many gay people do you think there are in our year?"

Draco leaned back as he thought about it, pulling Harry's hand with him. He interlocked their fingers and stared at them before replying, "Well, Blaise and I for sure, Finch-Fletchley from Hufflepuff as well. I'm not sure about Ravenclaw and in Gryffindor, Finnigan. You and Theo are both bi. At least, I think you are, since you dated Weasley the girl, before."

Harry laughed when he heard Draco say 'Weasley the girl,' "She has a name, you know."

Draco nodded seriously, "I know. Girl Weasley."

Harry laughed again but didn't say anything. He liked that Draco was coming out of his shell slowly. He thought about what Draco had said, there were quite a few of them, Justin, Blaise, Seamus—wait, Seamus?

"Seamus is gay?" Harry exclaimed.

"Yeah. I just said that."

"But he's never told us!" Damn, how could he not have realized? Of course, Seamus had never given any indication of it.

"Does it matter?" Draco asked.

"No. It's just a surprise, that's all." And what a surprise it was!

"Oh." Draco was quiet for a few moments as Harry tried to remember if he had ever seen Seamus with a boy. Nope, it was only ever Dean. Finally, the blonde said, "So, are you, you know, bisexual?"

Harry snapped out of his thoughts and looked at Draco. The blonde was gently worrying his lips, his gaze trained on their hands. "No, I think I don't really have a preference. It depends on the characteristics of the person, the way they make me feel."

"How do _I_ make you feel?" Draco asked.

"You make me feel … like I want to know more about you. Something about you makes me want to get close to you," Harry said slowly, "To hold you, touch you, protect you, to give to you everything that I am and take everything that you are, and, mostly, to cherish you."


	11. Chapter 11

**DISCLAIMER:** Harry Potter and all it's characters belong to J K Rowling.

Author's note: Please rate and review! Constructive criticism and thoughts on the story are greatly appreciated!

Sorry this chapter is a little late! I had this written down a long time ago, but had writer's block in a later part of the story and didn't want to publish this until i was past the block. But here it is! I hope you enjoy!

* * *

Chapter Eleven

"Oh" Draco said softly after Harry made that proclamation. He was frowning now, a small furrow coming into existence between his eyebrows. He started biting his lower lip and twisted his arm out of Harry's grasp. Harry frowned in response but let him do it. Then, Draco fidgeted a little, resulting in him moving a little away from Harry.

Harry finally sighed when Draco had scooted enough so that there was a couple of inches between them, "What's the matter? What did I say?"

Draco swallowed a little and started twisting his hands, "You didn't say anything." He looked so forlorn that Harry wanted to move closer to him again and hug him.

"Then why are you so uncomfortable now?" Harry asked bluntly.

Draco sighed, "Because, I didn't think you thought those things. I just thought that-" he stopped himself and wrangled his hands frowning more now and looking extremely troubled.

"You just thought, what?"

"Umm, I just thought that you were doing this for fun. That you're 'saving people' thing was what made you interested in me. I didn't think that you were actually interested."

Harry raised his eyebrows, "And why does that change things?"

The blonde sighed again, "It changes things because I'm not really sure how to answer such feelings. I told you, I've never been in a relationship before. I don't know what to do and it's making me feel bad that you're coming into this with expectations that I don't think I can fulfill." Draco's voice had gotten really soft at the end, and Harry wondered how many times he would have to clarify before the blonde understood that he wanted to be in a partnership, not an exchange. The blonde was clearly worried about what Harry had said regarding wanting to take everything that he is.

"Look, Draco, I told you, we can figure this out together. You don't have to feel like you owe me anything, you can give me whatever you want. I just said that you made me feel like that. I'm not going to do anything that you're not comfortable with." With that, Harry put his hand on Draco's again and waited for the reply.

Draco thought about it for a few minutes, and finally, with a frown said, "Okay. It's not like I'm against his or anything, it's just that-"

"It's a little too much to take right now. I know." Harry interrupted softly. They had sat in silence for a shorter time than before when Draco leaned forward with a softer sigh and settled down against Harry's chest. He started stroking it softly before Harry sighed in response and bent his head down to place a kiss on Draco's hair.

This was nice, peaceful even—just the two of them sitting as close as possible without being one person. Harry put his arms around Draco and hugged him tight. In response, Draco shifted so that he could access Harry's hands and took one of them in both of his, rubbing small circles over them.

"This is nice," he said softly.

"Yeah," Harry replied, just as softly. They sat like that for the longest time, each perfectly comfortable and not willing to move. When his legs started cramping, Harry shifted so that Draco was between his legs and not on them. After a few minutes had gone by, Draco finally said,

"So, what did you do this summer?" He was still playing with Harry's hands; softly running his own hands over them

"Just relaxed mostly. I remodeled Grimmauld Place—the house Sirius left me. And I hung out in Ron's house a lot as well. Nothing much other than that, I just wanted some peace and quiet."

"Sirius Black?" Draco asked, curiously.

"Yeah, he was my godfather."

Draco twisted so that he was looking Harry in the eyes, "I didn't know that. I just thought he was another member of the Order. My father told me about him—that he had been close friends with your parents but he sold them to- to him" he said cautiously.

Harry laughed humorlessly, "Your father would say that. No, it wasn't Sirius who sold them; it was Wormtail. And you know Wormtail was alive, and since his death was the reason Sirius went to prison, you know that that's not true."

Draco frowned, "Yeah. I never thought of it like that. Was he a good godfather?"

"The best. He tried to be together with me, but he was never acquitted when he was alive, so we couldn't be together. He gave Dumbledore the letter for me to go to Hogsmeade though. And that was something nice. I didn't get a lot of time with him; just a year and a half."

"Yeah, that must have sucked." Harry nodded slightly, deciding against mentioning the fact that it was his aunt who had killed Sirius. Draco would probably have known that.

Draco was quiet for a few seconds before he said, "Severus was my godfather."

Harry started when he heard Draco, staring at him incredulously.

"Really?" he asked in surprise. That was something he had never known, though he should have guessed that Snape had some relation to Draco, what with the obvious favor he had given him.

"Yes. He was a good godfather as well." Draco was now looking quite forlorn, pouting slightly as he remembered his godfather.

"Yeah, I bet he was." Harry said lightly.

Draco looked up in surprise, his brows furrowed. "I thought you hated him."

Harry nodded, " I did. And then I found out that he had been on our side all along."

"_What?"_ Draco looked bloody surprised. He had an incredibly astonished look on his face and Harry found it just adorable.

"Yeah. He had been Dumbledore's spy all along. He only killed him because Dumbledore asked him to. It's convoluted, really."

Draco was shaking his head, but Harry could see that it was because of confusion and not because the blonde was denying anything he was saying.

"He was a spy all along? And what do you mean he killed Dumbledore on his own orders?"

Harry sighed. It was a really long and complicated story, but he wanted Draco to know, so he said, "Before our sixth year, Dumbledore touched a cursed object and it cursed him. Since Snape was a spy, Dumbledore went to him about it, and was told that there was no chance that he would survive the curse. The only thing Snape could do was delay his death. At the same time, you had gotten your order from Voldemort and since your mother had made Snape promise to protect you, Dumbledore knew about it as well. So he decided that, if the time came and you couldn't do it and if there was no other option, Snape would perform the killing curse. And since, you couldn't do it, and I've always remembered that about you, and the rest of the Death Eaters were there on the tower, Snape did it. He killed Dumbledore." After all this time, Harry could talk about it with no inflection. That didn't mean that it didn't affect him though.

Because it did.

Draco had gone white in the middle, and he was now staring at Harry with slight horror, "Dumbledore told Severus to kill him if I couldn't? So, basically, you're telling me that it's my fault?"

Harry frowned, "How is it your fault?"

Draco scowled, "Because, if I hadn't been about to kill him, Snape wouldn't have had to do it."

Harry raised his eyebrows, "Yes, but if you hadn't have had to do it, somebody else might have, and the end result would have been the same. Even if no one else would have gotten the mission-" Harry continued as he saw Draco about to interrupt, "He was going to die anyway. That very night. He drank something that night which would have killed him eventually."

Draco's face cleared a little but he still looked worried. Suddenly, he looked up and stared at Harry.

"How do you know all of this? Not only that Snape killed him and that I stepped down, but that Dumbledore drank whatever it was that night."

Harry grinned a little sheepishly when he heard that, "Because I was there that night. I had been out with him and that's how I know what happened. And I had been on the tower. I was invisible and couldn't move, but I was there."

Draco gaped at him, "Fuck! I asked him that night; I _asked_ him if there was anybody else there. He said no!"

Harry rolled his eyes, "Well, he couldn't have said yes, now could he?"

Draco stared at him with his mouth hanging open. He couldn't seem to be able to reply to that. Finally he said, "Yes. But that means you saw everything!"

"I guess I did."

"Fuck."

"Why does it bother you so much?" Harry asked, slightly amused by Draco's dismayed expression.

"Why do I care so much? I care that you saw me in my worst moments. I care that _my boyfriend_ saw me like that. About to kill someone!"

"You didn't though." Harry said softly.

"I was going to!"

Harry shook his head, "Draco, all I care about is that you didn't. It matters to me, yeah, that you were like that, but I'm not going to let it define our relationship. You've changed, and the Draco I'm going out with is the changed one. That's all I'm looking for."

Draco sighed, but nodded when Harry finished. Things were quiet again as they both got caught in their thoughts. Finally, when Harry was getting tired of the quiet, he asked,

"How was your summer?"

Draco stared at him, and Harry stared back evenly till the blonde replied with a sigh, "It was alright, I guess. Father was sentenced well at the beginning of the summer and both mother and I got away with just probation, so the difficult parts were over soon. We mostly spent the rest of the summer at home, at the Manor. Mother went out a few times to meet with some old friends, but I didn't have the energy or the inclination to. I only went out once to get a new wand, but other than that, I didn't go out at all."

Oh! Draco's wand; Harry had completely forgotten about it. He had been carrying it the whole day, still had it in his pocket in fact from when he had shoved it in as a last thought when he was changing.

"How is your new wand?" Harry asked cautiously.

Draco shrugged, "Not very good. It doesn't work as well as my old one." He didn't look very troubled about it though, so Harry couldn't decide whether or not he should bring up the fact that he had Draco's old wand with him now.

"Oh!" Draco said suddenly, "You have my old wand, don't you?" He glared at Harry with an accusing look. Harry nodded helplessly and said, "Yes."

Draco bit his lips lightly, "Didn't you use my wand to defeat the Dark Lord? I remember you saying something about how I was- shit- that I was the master of the Elder Wand, and since you took it from me, you were its master and that- oh my god, that the Dark Lord couldn't kill you."

Harry nodded to all that Draco said, and the blonde continued a little breathlessly, "And is that how you defeated the Dark Lord? Because you had my wand which means you had control of the elder wand which means that the wand wouldn't work against you and that's why the Dark Lord's killing curse rebounded and hit him instead."

It looked like Draco, in his thoughts of the wand, had lost some of his apprehension of mentioning Voldemort. Harry nodded again and said, "Yeah, that's why he died; because the wand wouldn't harm me."

"Well, fuck" Draco breathed, "That means that, for the shortest time, I was the master of the Elder Wand."

Harry smiled slightly at the awe in Draco's voice, "Yes, you were. It's not that great of a thing though."

Draco stared at him incredulously and rolled his eyes, but didn't say anything. Harry hesitated, before asking in a rush, "Would you like your old wand back?"

Draco stared at him with his eyes wide for a few seconds before nodding slowly. Taking that as a yes, Harry slowly brought his hand back and took out the Hawthorn wand before placing it in front of Draco.


	12. Chapter 12

**DISCLAIMER:** Harry Potter and all it's characters belong to J K Rowling.

Author's note: Please rate and review! Constructive criticism and thoughts on the story are greatly appreciated!

Hey, i didn't have time to proofread this, so I'm sorry if there are any mistakes. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

Chapter Twelve

Draco stared at his hand for a couple of seconds before slowly reaching out and taking the wand from him. He did it almost reverently, softly gripping the wand in his own hand and staring at it, eyes wide. His mouth opened and closed a few times, attempting to form words that did not make it out. Harry waited it out; he knew what it felt like to get his hands on his wand after months of not touching it. At that moment, he regretted not giving his wand back to Draco before. The blonde had clearly missed it.

Finally, Draco looked up with a smile and said, "_Thank you_, I didn't know what became of it after the war, and I didn't want to inquire about it either, I thought that I would never get it back."

Harry smiled softly and they lapsed into silence as Draco continued staring at his wand. He twirled it in his hands a few times before lifting it and casting a few simple spells.

All of them worked perfectly. Harry could see the utter joy in the blonde's face and once again decided that he had made the right decision by giving back his wand. The next time Draco smiled at him, it was bright and radiant and made him look like he was glowing.

"You had it all this time?" the blonde asked him softly.

"Yeah. I didn't know how to give it to you, or even bring up the topic actually."

"Idiot."

Harry smiled sheepishly, and replied, "Sorry."

Draco rolled his eyes at that, and glared at him in amusement, "You gave me back my wand, Harry. I'm really not going to hold it against you. I'm just really relieved right now."

"Okay," Harry said, with a smile. He wondered if Draco ever would have asked for his wand back once he realized that Harry had it. The old Draco would have been too prideful to do that, but Harry didn't know what the new Draco would do in this kind of situation. He did not seem to have lost too much of his pride, just his courage. Or, to be more precise, whatever courage he had before had dwindled. He was just contemplating Draco's pride when the blonde suddenly asked,

"If you had this before, why didn't you give it to me?"

Harry stared at him, "Draco, it's the first day of school. When else was I supposed to give it to you?"

The blonde scowled at those words, but looked slightly troubled, "In the summer." He paused, and then said in a rush, "Why didn't you give it to me in the summer? You know where I live, so it couldn't be that you weren't aware of that."

Harry frowned as he considered how to reply to that, "Because, at that time, it didn't cross my mind," he said slowly, hoping that Draco would understand that beyond the absolute necessary, Harry had avoided thoughts of the war as much as possible, and that Draco was an essential part of the war. He had also not wanted to face going back to the manor, the place of so much agony, to give it back; nor had he wanted to contemplate how the Malfoys had fared in the aftermath.

"Yeah, nothing crossed your mind then." Draco said bitterly. Harry was bewildered by the sudden change in emotions in the blonde.

"What are you talking about? What's that supposed to mean?" he asked, confused about why the Slytherin had suddenly descended in a dark mood.

"Nothing," Draco muttered and clenched his teeth together. To Harry, it looked like the blonde was suppressing something, an emotion, perhaps? He was now twisting his wand in his hands and staring at it, as if he was trying to push away whatever thoughts were plaguing him.

Not that Harry would let him, of course. He did not want to start of their relationship with Draco being afraid about showing what he was feeling, or deciding not to for some reason.

"No, tell me," Harry said, gently but firmly. When Draco shook his head, Harry took his chin in has hand and lifted it up so that he could see Draco's grey eyes. They didn't look scared, just sad, and slightly angry.

"Just tell me," Harry repeated.

Draco stared back at him, and finally took a deep breath, "You didn't come to give me my wand, you didn't come to the trials when I was charged and sentenced; you didn't come, you didn't bother." Draco said softly, slight accusation in his voice.

Ah, this was about the trials; and the summer. Harry took a deep breath before answering, "I didn't give you back your wand because I didn't want to go to your house, not because of you, Draco. I didn't want to go to a place where my best friend had been tortured. And before you ask, I didn't ask to meet up with you somewhere else to give back the wand because I honestly didn't want to meet with anybody related to the war at that time. And, Draco, I didn't go to anybody's trial for the same reason. Because I didn't want to be reminded of the war."

Draco swallowed and bit his lips gently, "I get that. But you should have at least come for mother's trial. She expected you to, you know—because she lied for you. And when you didn't, she hid her disappointment but I could still see it. I didn't care about father or myself because I know we both deserved it, but she didn't. you could have at least have come just to tell them that she saved you."

Harry stared at him, "Sweetie, would you be a little more appeased if I told you that I sent a letter to the Wizengamot on behalf of both you and your mother stating your parts in the effort to stop Voldemort?"

Draco's head snapped up to him, though Harry didn't know if it was because of the endearment or because of what he had said.

"What do you mean you sent letters for us?"

Harry huffed out a breath, talking about the war had not been wha he wanted to do this evening, "I sent letters to them telling them that your mother lied for me, which ultimately saved all of us, and that you had also lied when we were in the manor—that you were forced to take part in things and that your mother was under similar constrains as well because of you father. Basically that they had to make some concessions for you based on the fact that you were forced to do things."

Draco gaped at him, his mouth hanging open, "You did that?"

Harry nodded in reply, but didn't say anything. At that time, it had felt like the right thing to do; inform the Wizengamot of Draco's and his mother's actions so that a fair trial could take place with information from both sides.

Draco stared at him some more before finally saying, "Is that why we got such light sentences?"

Harry shrugged in response, "I don't know. I never got a reply from the Wizengamot with your sentence, so I don't really know what it is. I'd like to think that they tried you fairly, though."

Draco huffed, but did not look angry, "You mean, you hope they didn't acquit is because of your word, but because it was the just thing to do."

Harry nodded, "Yeah."

Draco lapsed into silence again, slightly appeased this time. Harry thought he got his old personality back at the oddest times. Harry could swear that, had they had this conversation yesterday, Draco would have accepted whatever Harry had done or didn't do, in this case, because he felt that he wouldn't be worth the effort. He would have asked, or begged, Harry to keep the wand because he didn't think he deserved it. The more Harry saw of Draco, he realized that the blonde was hiding under a shell of fear, and when he was in a place where he wasn't scared, his original personality and traits came out, along with the insecurity. The rest of the time, he hid himself and pretended to be someone else. Though, even now, he was acting shyer and more subdued than he usually was.

"You okay?" Harry asked softly.

"Yeah," the blonde replied, "I just don't like thinking about the trials."

"Are they what brought on your change in mood?"

The blonde nodded, "Yes." He was biting his lips again, and he reached out to take Harry's hand, twisting it around so that he could grip it tightly. Finally, he said, "Can we talk about something else?"

Harry thought about it and then asked, "Okay. What were you and Parkinson fighting about at dinner?" It had been at the back of his mind since then, and he wanted to know more about how Draco interacted with his housemates.

Draco rolled his eyes, and said dryly, "About you, actually."

Harry raised his eyebrows and asked, "Me? What about me?"

Draco huffed out a breath; "Pansy doesn't think that it wise that I am hanging out with you. She thinks you're going to get me in trouble." He rolled his eyes again to emphasize how ridiculous he thought that was.

"Oh. She knows?" Harry asked.

Draco nodded, "The basics. I didn't tell her much. That's probably why she's so irritated."

Harry chuckled, "Yeah. Hermione would be the same if she found out that I was hiding things from her."

Draco cleared his throat before continuing, "Does she know? About us, I mean. And Weasley, does he know as well?"

Harry nodded, "The basics, like you said. Just that you're my boyfriend. And that I care about you."

Draco nodded, a light blush appearing on his face at those words. "Can I tell Pansy as well?" he asked.

"Sure, if you want to."

"I do."

Harry smiled at him and raised his hand to his cheeks to feel the blush. This version of Draco, the shy one, the one who blushed so easily, seemed perfect to him.

It was only later at night when Harry had gotten into bed that he realized something. He and Draco had talked the entire time they were in the Room of Requirement—the whole conversation about the wand and the trials and then, about what they should tell their friends and what they should keep between themselves. They hadn't, even once, kissed or even touched each other in suggestive ways. And neither had noticed. It made Harry realize that what he had with Draco went past the physical; they were together for the sake of a partnership, not as an exchange of physical favors labeled as a relationship.

When Harry closed his eyes and drifted to sleep, he did so with a smile on his face.


End file.
